Glass Flake Epoxy Made for Bridges

Sherwin-Williams has developed a glass flake epoxy-based paint—originally developed for offshore structures in the North Sea—for use on bridges and highways.

The company's Protective & Marine Coatings division (formerly Leighs Paints, which Sherwin-Williams acquired in 2011) says it is the first to use the coatings technology for bridge and highway applications.

The system "eliminates the requirements for ongoing maintenance to significantly reduce environmental impact, save on repair costs, and extend asset life, offering up to 25 years’ protection," according to a product announcement.

Features and Applications

The three-coat preventive maintenance coating system is designed to deliver corrosion protection in harsh weather conditions. The technology debuted in a bridge application in 2011 when it was used to complete the legendary painting of the Forth Rail Bridge.

Sherwin-Williams

A glass flake epoxy-based system was used to complete the painting of the Forth Rail Bridge in 2011. Sherwin-Williams says its formulation has been used on dozens of bridge and highway projects.

Sherwin-Williams says its glass flake epoxy coatings now feature of a number of other large bridge and highway projects, including 47 bridges across the M6 toll road, the Tay Rail Bridge and the Royal Albert Bridge.

Variable Systems

Using glass flake technology to provide a thicker dry film in a single coat, the coatings system can be modified to meet the customer's requirements for cost, application and finish, the manufacturer says.

The selected paints typically consist of a higher-build blast primer, an epoxy glass flake build coat, and an acrylic urethane finish, as well as a stripe coat of epoxy glass flake.

“By transferring our innovative coatings technologies across markets, we have reduced the need for service and maintenance and extended asset life within the bridge and highways sector," said Nick Ball, marketing director EMEA at Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings.

Glass flake epoxy is nothing new, Leighs M912 followed by M922 are best part of 20 years old technology though they are some of the best, developed for harsh environment exposure GFEs have found use in a multitude of applications and it would be very narrow minded to confine them to bridges!! Yes M922 was very successfully used on the Forth rail crossing but it had a far greater earlier extremely successful track record for offshore oil installations in the North Sea!!